We have decided to invest in 2 ETFs, a multi asset allocation ETF (Fixed Inc, alts and div paying equities) and a preferred stock ETF. This will cover almost 45 percent of our deficit. We will be extremely diversified, can access the markets at a very low cost and the investments are liquid. On this pool of $, we have no plans to invade principal unless the investment grows by 20 percent, which we think is unlikely given the characteristics of the investments.

Once I started blogging and connecting with other bloggers in the personal finance space, I saw how much potential was out there. And honestly, how much money some bloggers were making really shocked me. I distinctly remember one blogger telling me his website was making $30,000 per month….and this was 2009! To say this blew my mind is an understatement of epic proportions.

This is an important concept in personal finance because banks typically use this calculation to measure the affordability of a loan. In other words, does Jim make enough money to pay his existing bills and an additional loan payment? If Jim’s RI is high, his loan application will have a greater chance of being approved. If his RI is low, he will probably get rejected for the loan immediately.

There’s a second downside to this model. Although I’ve done advertising and sponsorships in the past, and have made hundreds of thousands of dollars doing so, the truth is it takes a lot of time for this business model to start to generate income for you, because you need to build that audience first. In addition, what happens when you build your audience on a platform that ends up changing its algorithm, affecting how often you actually get seen by the audience you’ve built?

“The biggest surprise is real estate being second to last on my Passive Income Ranking List because I’ve written that real estate is my favorite investment class to build wealth. Real estate doesn’t stack up well against the other passive income sources due to the lack of liquidity and constant maintenance of tenants and property. The returns can be huge due to rising rental income AND principal over time, much like dividend investing. If you are a “proactive passive income earner” like myself, then real estate is great.”
​Self Publishing is mainstream today. When you purchase an eBook off of Amazon there’s a pretty good chance you’re buying a self-published book. Self-publishing is also ridiculously easy. I tried this a few years ago and couldn’t believe how simple the process was. To self-publish a book you’ll first need to write and edit it, create a cover, and then upload to a program such as Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. Don’t expect instant success though. There will need to be a lot of upfront marketing before you can turn this into a passive income stream.
That income is considered residual income because as long as the apartment is rented and the rent is collected, the income is earned without additional effort. The effort came when the property was purchased and a tenant was found. Each month after that, the money automatically is paid without buying the apartment again or finding the same tenant each month.
No matter what venture you undertake in life, you need a team. I’m a firm believer in team work, even if it is just to bounce ideas off of, or to have someone tell you that you are off track. For many individuals, this person is their spouse, who also brings some income diversity to the table. Just like I mentioned above, if your spouse has income, try to maximize it.
I’ve got a $185,000 CD generating 3% interest coming due. Although the return is low, it’s guaranteed. The CD gave me the confidence to investment more aggressively in risk over the years. My online interest income has come down since I aggressively deployed some capital at the beginning of the year and again during the February market correction. You’ll see these figures in my quarterly investment income update.
We have 1 rental at the moment and we are renovating the second one. Last year we generated over $14,000 net passive income (after mortgage payments and taxes) from one apartment, and all I had to do was go in to inspect the property 3 times to make sure the tenants weren’t destroying it! It turned out they kept it in perfect condition and they were lovely people! Call me lucky.

I sold back in the mid 80s. We took a second from the guy who purchased it. He paid us 7% a year on the amount he borrowed. That was actually a good thing. In a couple years, he paid the loan off early but we had an early payment clause that paid us six months of interest. I invested the proceeds in the market which was hot at the time. So, that was good. It turned out to be a great investment. My only regret was for diversification purposes, and that guaranteed income stream. We had one section 8 tenant who kept the place spotless, and we could always count on the government to pay. Plus if I had a good tenant, I would keep the rents low but with section 8, it didn’t matter, the government paid most of the rent and increasing the rental didn’t affect the tenant that much.

Residual income can have two different definitions or applications. The first definition, a less common application of residual income, is the money that is left after monthly debts are paid. This calculation is particularly important when a person is seeking financing or a loan based on their income and available money to cover the additional debt. In this scenario, the residual income is calculated by this formula: